Finiteness

(2,509 words)

Article Table of Contents

1. Definition

Just looking at a language like English, one easily gets the impression that “tensed” equals “finite” and one may wonder why we actually need two separate notions. However, taking a wider perspective, it becomes clear that tense and finiteness are different after all: not only do some languages (like Latin) have tensed infinitives, in others, such as Dravidian, finiteness is expressed thr…